It's been months since I touched my oil paints. Actually. Just after we got home from the Yukon last September. OK, I painted one small piece on my way back from Onoway after picking up the dogs from my friend Colleen's house, which I recently painted over. Oils are still daunting for me. They are still well outside of my comfort zone, but I do like a challenge, so I brought them with me on our trip to the West Coast. The first few days were long driving days, and yesterday was just too blustery in Courtney BC, to do anything but take photos on my phone. But today, today was sunny and breezy and perfect for breaking out that underused kit.

So we arrived in Ucluelet, set up camp, went to Jigger's food truck for fish and chips and deep fried prawns, and set out for Long Beach.

While the BD and the dogs were exploring a small length of the beach, and getting sandy and wet, I blissfully set up a sweet mini-rig on some conveniently spaced piles of driftwood, in the golden rays of the setting sun, while the waves roared in my ears.

This is my third time visiting Long Beach, and my 6th or 7th time painting plein air with oils. I've mixed feelings about the result of this session, but what good is a talent if you don't play with it and try new things at the risk of them not being great?